Tweet of the Day: Christie pulling NJ out of Common Core..

Chris Christie still hugged Obama and hails from a high tax, high gun control state. No thanks. 

After backing away from previous position on immigration pathway, Christie pulling out of Common Core. Pronounced rightward turn.

— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) May 28, 2015

Jindal dumps Common Core in Louisiana...

Common Core was a good idea that was stupidly implemented.

Via WaPo:

Simmering tensions over the Common Core State Standards in Louisiana erupted into an intramural battle as Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) declared he was withdrawing his state from the national education standards while the state’s top education officials insisted Louisiana would keep them.
In a hastily arranged public announcement Wednesday, Jindal said he had issued an executive order to remove Louisiana from a consortium of states that is creating new standardized tests based on the Common Core standards in reading and math for grades K through 12.
Jindal, a possible presidential candidate, was an early supporter of the standards. But as they came under fire by critics, including tea party groups, Jindal’s support dissolved.
He said Wednesday he was opposed to the standards because he came to see them as a “federal takeover” of state education, even though the Common Core was created by a group of states and the federal government had no official role.

Indiana drops out of voluntary Common Core. Gets threatening letter from U.S. Department of Education

Liberals won't give up any control easily...

Via EAG News:

Indiana lawmakers recently voted to opt out of the “voluntary, state-led” Common Core public education experiment, and now they’re paying the price.

The Indiana Department of Education received a letter from federal officials last week threatening to revoke the state’s waiver from No Child Left Behind – reforms enacted under the Bush administration to improve public schools, Heritage.org reports.

In 2009, U.S. Department of Education officials offered states exemptions from the more stringent provisions of No Child Left Behind in exchange for adopting the Common Core national education standards. Officials in Indiana and numerous other states jumped at the opportunity to ditch the tough No Child Left Behind requirements and adopted Common Core instead.

Amid strong public backlash over Common Core, Indiana lawmakers recently scrapped the national standards and instead opted to devise their own college- and career-ready standards by July 1 for use next school year, according to Heritage.org. Keep on reading...

Actual Good News: South Carolina dumps Common Core

The Common Core revolt is building...

Via EAG News:

South Carolina’s top education leader announced on Monday that the Palmetto State is pulling out of the Common Core standardized testing group, Smarter Balanced.

Superintendent of Education Mick Zais sent a letter to state Board of Education members informing them of the move – after he learned he had the unilateral authority to do make it, PostAndCourier.com reports.

Zais was spurred to action by bills in the state legislature that, among other things, would prevent South Carolina from using the Smarter Balanced tests in schools.

“My recommendation was to get ahead of these actions of the General Assembly and show the members of the General Assembly that we believe exploring assessment options is the most prudent course of action for South Carolina,” Zais wrote in the letter.

The state was expected to begin using the Common Core-aligned Smarter Balanced tests during the 2014-15 school year. South Carolina students will still be tested on the new, nationalized math and English learning standards next year, but they may be given a re-worked version of the current state test or an alternative Common Core-aligned assessment, such as the ACT Aspire test, reports BeaufortGazette.com.

Keep on reading…

Mother suspended from her child's school over Common Core opt out forms

So much for freedom of speech...

Via EAG News:

Officials at Sacramento Unified School District need to remind themselves that public schools belong to the public, and the public has a right to express itself about education issues.
Katherine Duran is the mother of a student at Sacramento’s Mark Twain Elementary, and one of many parents with deep concerns about the school’s scheduled transformation to Common Core math and English standards in the fall.
As a form of protest, Duran printed out a bunch of forms for parents, which they can sign if they want to have their children opted out of Common Core testing.
She gave the forms to her son, Christopher Duran, who handed them to other students to take home to their parents.
That was obviously too much for school officials, who had a police officer visit Duran’s house and hand her a notice of a 14-day suspension from school property.
Keep on reading….

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence gives common core the axe...

Hero....

Via The Foundry:

Indiana’s experiment with Common Core is over.
Gov. Mike Pence signed legislation today requiring the state to come up with its own academic standards, making Indiana the latest state to pull its support for national education standards known as Common Core.
“I believe our students are best served when decisions about education are made at the state and local level,” the Republican governor said, adding:
“By signing this legislation, Indiana has taken an important step forward in developing academic standards that are written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers, and are uncommonly high.”
Indiana was among the first states to adopt Common Core standards in 2010 when Mitch Daniels, another Republican, was governor. Pence, elected two years later, has watched as Indiana became a battleground in the fight over the standards.